Current Areas of Research: The contributions of specific neurotransmitters to the decline of memory function with aging are investigated. Rats are evaluated for spatial memory using the eight-arm radial maze and their brains are examined neurochemically using high resolution liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, radiochemical techniques and micro-fluorometric techniques. Experiments are also evaluating whether steroid hormones of adrenal or gonadal origin may influence performance and/or neurochemicals and thereby influence the aging process.

Other projects are investigating the role of serotonin in the expression and regulation of female sexual behavior. A combination of behavioral and neurochemical techniques are applied. Specific nuclei within the preoptic-hypothalamus continuum are sampled and analyzed for content of monoamines, serotonin and their metabolites. Changes in levels and/or activity of the monoamines are correlated with changes in behavioral receptivity induced by pharmacological (drugs or hormones) or physiological (estrus cycle, neonatal manipulation) means. Dialysis probes are also inserted into the hypothalamus using stereotaxic surgery techniques, and serotonin release is measured in vivo in a conscious rat in relation to lordosis responsivity.